Car question

Or the chain could bind and break something on the engine since it is exposed to the elements. A belt can't do much harm if it comes off, a chain can do a lot of damage.

That depends, some engines use a belt for the cam timing. If the belt breaks you could have pistons contacting valves in the chamber.

Basically summing up what everyone else. Belts are quieter cheaper smoother take less space and have less inertia. But they require replacement. Chains require maintenance and replacement, although they usually last longer than belts.
 
It's mostly cost and ease of manufacturing - a chain can be surprisingly more expensive (considering now they're made in the thousands) and also alot harder to install quickly as a part of an assembly line.

Chains need to be re-tensioned too after running for a little bit since when they're new they tend to stretch a bit as they wear in properly. Because they're more efficient its more likely they would be sealed as a part of the engine because it makes it easier to keep them clean and oiled.

Otherwise, chains are far superior - especially since engine's now do not have clearance between the valves and the pistons so if the belt snap's or slips or anything like that you have a nice shiny piston with two valves embedded in it :D

Chains are also on average 2% more efficient that belts :D
 
That depends, some engines use a belt for the cam timing. If the belt breaks you could have pistons contacting valves in the chamber.

Basically summing up what everyone else. Belts are quieter cheaper smoother take less space and have less inertia. But they require replacement. Chains require maintenance and replacement, although they usually last longer than belts.

Thats pretty much it!
 
Why don't they make the serpentine belt a chain? For some reason I thought of this today, and it makes sense. Because chains are a lot less likely to break, right? I know Toyota has started using timing chains in some of their stuff, which means that you don't have to change the timing belt every 60,000 miles, so why not do the same for the serpentine?

They do, an old car my dad used to have had a timing chain rather than a timing belt.

(it was a ford Granada).

in general they are extremely reliable, but do require regular maintenance, like grease and oil, usually chains can stretch, but I'm not sure that these chains are under enough stress to actually stretch too much.

in any case, the service interval for adjusting the chain tensioner is going to be something like 60,000 miles, which is the same service interval for replacing the rubber belt, so you're not loosing anything!

the downside to using a chain is that it's a lot noisier than a rubber belt, (though personally having had a belt snap before, I'd likely prefer a noisy chain and a working engine than a rubber belt and an expensive rebuild!
 
I don't know anything about Toyota and would like to say that I like Audi brand cars! They are the most secure ones.
 
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